Morezmore #25
Ball-Jointed Doll (BJD): Figuring Out The Mechanics. Part 2
***

Posted By Natasha Red October on January 16, 2010

Continued from Morezmore #25 Ball-Jointed Doll (BJD): Figuring Out The Mechanics. Part 1

Last Update: February 16, 2010

Good morning. I got my elastic finally, put everything together – the elastic is one continuous loop. Well, folks, she STANDS – barely, but definitely stands. So now it is a matter of shaping, and refining and making all parts symmetrical – right now one leg is shorter. Better symmetry, better fitting leg joints will improve the standing balance. So far I am happy with the progress, although she looks rough, I know what to do to make her look better and stand better. Will be back tomorrow – thank you for watching!


January 16, 2010

Good morning. Hands again – for the third time. I decided to make the little hook construction inside the wrist out of and redid the hands. Took pictures too – to show that thread armature idea. Not every step is photographed, there is quite a bit of poking and smoothing and pulling, but it will give you the main idea.

So, here we go:

1. cut cotton thread with sharp to make 5 pieces

2. made clay fingers, and two pieces of clay for palm and back of palm. The clay is Rose.

3. Attached fingers to the back of the palm

4. Put S-hook joing and the palm piece on top, pressed it all together

5. Made indentations between the fingers and sealed and smoothed the clay seams there with the .

6. Attached and formed the thumb – with , also known as Jack Johnston Primary Sculpting Tool.

7. cut off excess clay and thread on finger tips

8. made finger joint creases with the other end of

9. Palm lines – in Russia they are called “Fate lines” – again, with .

10. Other tools used – a plastic straw cut at an angle to make nail beds, , colour shapers (also called clay shapers) in Size 0.

Here you go – they are baked, they are looking pretty good to me – but I see some things I don’t like, so  I will detail them tomorrow – shave some clay off with a fresh , add clay where needed, cover with Translucent Liquid Sculpey and rebake.

Here is also a first go at the elbow joint. The joint is made out of clay, with a piece of inside, the arm and forearm – also clay with inside. The arms need lots more sculpting and fitting, of course. I stringed them on a rubber band to see what needs to be done, other than the obvious and took some pictures.

Girls don’t need much to start flirting :)

Here is what I have – will continue tomorrow. Thank you very much for watching :)

January 17, 2010

Change of plans. I came to the conclusion that I am going the wrong way about the whole thing. I am trying to think ahead and reinforce the parts which I think will be weak – nothing but a guesswork. Instead of that I am going to sculpt the entire doll in polymer clay and FIND the spots which are weak in reality and not in my imagination. Then I will reinforce them. So, back to square one, I will keep the head and the hands, the rest will be redone. Alan and Pat from ODA forum suggested using plastic straws inside the clay – for the sake of stringing. So this is the plan. Thank you for watching – be right back.

This morning, I tried to make a single ball joint in the elbow – instead of what you see in the picture. It works, but the range of movement is rather restricted – pretty much 90 degrees bent in the  elbow and no rotation in the elbow,  definitely not as much fun as the double ball joint, so I discarded the idea. Now the double ball joint, although very posable, is all over the place – so I need to figure out the shape which will restrict unnatural bends in the elbow.

It is almost 11 am, need to do some work – talk to you later – thank you for watching

January 18, 2010

Change of plans again – Polymer clay without reinforcement is not going to work – I see it already. Back to the original plan – reinforced structure out of Magic Sculpt with polymer clay on top. However, plastic straws sounds like usable idea – inside the Magic Sculpt – instead of tubes.

Another bunch of Russian links on BJD – thank you, Marina! :)

http://forum1.kukly.ru/forums.php?forum=58

January 20, 2010

And again, change of plans – Yes, it will work – pure Polymer clay. I am happy – I made a joint – it works.  All that needed is a good fit of the joint.  A VERY GOOD FIT. I will post the pictures shortly.

January 21, 2010

Good morning. So, elbow joint pictures, as I mentioned yesterday.

First, I made a working joint prototype – crude and out of scale, but working. It bends to allowing the hand to be brought to the shoulder (almost at the moment and it can be made to close completely), it holds its position and it does not bend backwards and it does not rotate, because as Heather helpfully pointed out in the comment below – a human elbow joint does not have any rotation.

Now, I will try to make the same joint in the scale for my doll – I am making two joints at the same time. Here is step-by-step:

1. Made balls out of clay, made a hole – now they look like beads.

2. Put small pieces of plastic drinking straws inside the hole – rolled between my palms again to make them round – and baked. Baking at the highest temperature allowed by manufacturer – 260 degrees for Fimo – good 20 minutes – I need all the strength I can get.

3. Removed the plastic straws out of the beads – the easiest way is with the needle file.

4. Jointed the balls together, with a piece of plastic straw, put some clay around to make cylinders and baked.

5. Cut the sides off – to make flat sides – this will prevent the joint from rotating sideways making the rotation possible only in one plane (forward and backward).

6. Cut and filed and sanded the slits for elastic – one side only – that will allow to bend the elbow forward and not backwards

7. Put the piece of clay around the joint – wider on the outside of the elbow, narrower on the inside of the elbow. That will prevent the joint from rotating backwards. The front part will be fine-tuned later – shaved with knife and sanded to make a good close fit. Baked again.

8. Named the balls – I will need it.

9. Made arms and forarms – approximate – I am interested in the joint part right now, and worry about the other ends later.

10. Inserted plastic straws inside.

11. Made the sockets by inserting the balls into the ends of the arms and forearms. To prevent the balls from sticking, wet the balls before inserting. The sockets are exact negatives of the balls.

12. Marked the arms and forearms the same letters and baked.

13. Remove the straws.

14. Match letters – they fit just right.

I am out of time – so tomorrow I will make the other ends of arms and forearms, make them look like arms – by cutting and shaving and adding clay and rebaking. The sockets also need sanding – to make them look nicer.

Thank you for watching – talk to you later.

January 23, 2010

A little more of arms. The shoulder joint does not work yet – it needs the second (torso) socket. The arms need shaping – carving with a knife and sanding. The old torso was discarded – does not work, I will make another one. Thank you – talk to you later.

January 25, 2010

Good morning. Made the chest and the tummy ball. The shoulder joints are being redone – to fit the balls in the shoulders. The old shoulders were too bulky. The progress is very slow. To cheer all of us up, we performed a little dance for your enjoyment.

January 26, 2010

Good morning. Sculpted the shoulder joints and baked. They are still rough – meaning I did not sand them yet to fit the sockets in the torso, but they already work pretty well – this is very exciting. I will fit them better tomorrow – I have a lot of packages to ship today and want to start working early, but here are some ball gymnastics with a glass bead – to celebrate our newly acquired shoulder joints!

January 27, 2010

Good morning. More cutting and fitting and testing and pushing those shoulder joints to their limits – exploring the range of the movement. It is fascinating. The discoveries include the shape of the shoulder joint, the shape of the torso socket and the neck joint limitations.

For shoulder joint shape – please see below – that is what seems to work best (and I am sure it can be improved).

The shoulder sockets in the torso are more open in the front than in the back – this way the elbow can come further towards the front.

About the neck – I am going back to a separate ball in the neck like I had in the beginning – in other words, neck, separate ball, head – instead of what I have now – ball and neck together.  I made the neck ball joint and the torso as one piece because that is what everybody else does – in all the pictures I see them together, but now I miss the freedom of movement in the neck that I had a few days ago.

The stringing: I am using a very thin and very long crochet hook to pull the elastic through. The elastic that I have in my disposal is of very poor quality – it is actually a piece of turkey tie which is available at the grocery store.  I will be ordering good elastic today – in two or three different grades of thickness. It is one piece loop and I will draw a diagram later to show how it goes – it that way works all the way through for the entire doll.

I am also talking to a manufacturer of miniature springs – ready to place an order for 1000 springs 2 mm diameter by 40 mm long. I think that should work – the springs can be cut in two or three parts to make them shorter (the last coil will form a hook) or linked together to make them longer.

Thank you – talk to you later! :)

January 31, 2010

Good morning. After a few very busy days at Morezmore, I am back! So, the legs and lower torso. I have a very vague idea of how it is going to work, but I have to start somewhere – so here are the parts. The ankles have the same ball joint as wrists, the knees have the same ball joint as elbows, the hips – same ball joint as shoulders. That is the plan for now. Will continue tomorrow – thank you for watching!

February 3, 2010

Good morning. I have a little more. I am waiting on elastic – I cannot string her – the turkey elastic string tie that I am using is too short. But I can work on individual parts. Here are the pictures:

The concept for the doll is a teenage Nepali dancer. The inspiration came from the on the cover of the music CD that I have been listening to. The female voice rising out of the male chorus chant sends shivers up my spine.

The music is Tantra from

Evening of February 3, 2010

I searched the internet for Nepali dancing and there she was – my Teenage Nepali Dancer BJD doll concept – in flesh – dancing away!
Yes, that is exactly what I had in mind – it is a perfect fit. Enjoy this dance – the girl is amazing :)

The supersized pictures can be found here: http://www.morezmore.com/BJD.html

February 13, 2010

Good morning – long time no post. Between the snow, internet outage, increased sales volume (people are snowed in and shop online, it seems) and replenishing the inventory (after the spike in sales my shelves were empty) – I was very busy. Well, I am back and continuing.  Here is our first attempt to stand. She stands on her own, not well – barely, because the joints are not fitted and because I still do not have good elastic – the delivery of the box with elastic is delayed due to the weather. So I strung her with rubber bands again and working on the shape of the legs. I did receive new needle files – they make things much easier – I am doing a lot of filing and sanding and cutting and fitting and filing again and trying again. The progress is very slow but it is moving along again. Here are the pictures – thank you for watching! :)

February 14, 2010

For a while I was thinking about bringing the tummy ball lower – into the tummy. This way she will be able to bend at the waist in a more natural way. So, while I am waiting on the elastic, decided to cut the lower torso and lengthen the upper torso part. Working on it – thank you for watching!


February 16, 2010

Good morning. I got my elastic finally, put everything together – the elastic is one continuous loop. Well, folks, she STANDS – barely, but definitely stands. So now it is a matter of shaping, and refining and making all parts symmetrical – right now one leg is shorter. Better symmetry, better fitting leg joints will improve the standing balance. So far I am happy with the progress, although she looks rough, I know what to do to make her look better and stand better. Will be back tomorrow – thank you for watching!


To be continued at Morezmore #25 Ball-Jointed Doll (BJD): Figuring Out The Mechanics. Part 3.

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Comments

66 Responses to “Morezmore #25
Ball-Jointed Doll (BJD): Figuring Out The Mechanics. Part 2
***”

  1. » Morezmore #25Ball-Jointed Doll (BJD): Figuring Out The Mechanics. Part 1*** says:
    January 16, 2010 at 9:31 am

    [...] Morezmore #25Ball-Jointed Doll (BJD): Figuring Out The Mechanics. Part 2*** [...]

  2. MARINA says:
    January 16, 2010 at 8:54 pm

    http://forum1.kukly.ru/forums.php?forum=58
    This is in Russian.You can find a lot about this king doll.
    Good luck.
    Marina.

  3. Florence says:
    January 17, 2010 at 5:00 am

    Hi Natasha,

    Thank you again for your enlightening tutorials. I will be following your exploits dutifully :D

  4. Natasha Red October says:
    January 17, 2010 at 10:43 am

    Thank you, Florence! :)
    glad you find it interesting :)
    my pleasure :)

  5. Heather West says:
    January 18, 2010 at 5:25 am

    Natasha, as for the elbows, it might help to know that the elbow does not actually have any rotation. All of the appeartance of rotation comes from the shoulder and wrist joints. The elbow only bends in one direction. If your shoulder has enough range of movement, you’ll be fine.

  6. Natasha Red October says:
    January 18, 2010 at 11:34 am

    Thank you, Marina – will check it out! :)
    thank you Heather – yep, you are right – did not think about it! :)

  7. Pamela Hazlewood says:
    January 20, 2010 at 9:17 pm

    Nat,
    I understand the hand/string idea even better now, thanks for the tutorial on it.
    I also understand the thought behind the double joint elbow, but as you already know Heather is right about the elbow only having the straight/bent range of motion. The other thing with the elbow is the point they end in when bent which is a very distinctive part of the elbow. The double ball elbow joints I have seen on the BJD’s look very awkward to me when they are visible. I was looking at the site you listed at the beginning of this project, sorry I don’t remember the name, but she does the double ball joints on her BJD’s and they look awkward as nudes. On second thought the elbow does have rotation for the wrist in a way. It really is not the elbow it is the bones in the forearm rotating over each other (pronation & supination). My partner is a Doctor and I asked if there was a way to portray that in a sculpt, my answer was “not really.” I had an idea of using your tube in tube to get the twisting of the fore arm. You would have to have a stop on one tube to keep the tubes together. You would also have more rotation than normal, but it would allow for the fore arm rotation.
    The knees are the same way as the elbows, only one direction of articulation. The joints with the most articulation are the shoulders and hips.
    If you need any explanation of the tube in tube idea I can explain it more in a direct email if you want.
    I hope it makes sense.
    Pam

  8. Natasha Red October says:
    January 21, 2010 at 10:51 am

    Hi, Pam – thank you for this great research. I agree they do look awkward – even in the best examples. But they allow the movement that I am after. My BJD (she needs a name, by the way) will be dressed, so I decided not to worry about the nude appearance. However, the tube inside the tube rotation – that is an awesome idea! :) I will definitely explore it next time. For this one, I will keep it simple (which is NOT, lol) – well, as simple as possible. It is a totally unchartered territory for me. Lots of links on BJD in paperclay, but not a whole lot in Polymer Clay. If anybody has links – step by step in polymer clay, I would love to see it. But even without any clues – it makes it super interesting and challenging to figure it out on my own – I enjoy it :)
    thank you, sweetheart – love the idea about telescoping tubes rotation. :)

  9. Pamela Hazlewood says:
    January 22, 2010 at 9:33 am

    Nat,
    The tube in tube is your idea, I just took it to use in a different version of what you already use them for. Instead of fixed as in your usual sculpts, they will be only partly fixed. I think you could get it to work, but I agree that this one has become more complicated as it is than the simple BJD you had decided to create. I must admit that typing BJD is not very hard, but a name for your BJD would be much better. As she is your first BJD you could use an “A” name and the shorter the better at the moment (just to make it as easy as BJD is to type):)
    You know you can still make the distinctive point on the elbow (I believe it is called the Olecranon, at least that is what that part of the ulna is called), just put it on the outside of your elbow ball joint. It shouldn’t change the movement, but might make the elbow look normal under clothing. Still it may be for next time.
    It is looking good so far. I really like the face and the hands are great.
    So, what are you going to name this BJD and have you decided if it is male or female?
    Keep it up.
    Pam

  10. Natasha Red October says:
    January 23, 2010 at 8:22 am

    Thank you, Pam :)
    I will think of it. The anatomy still leaves much to be desired, I agree. This is a sort of divide and conquer approach. First I will make the mechanics work – if she turns to out be pretty cute although somewhat stylized – anatomically-speaking, I am ok with it for the first round. So the Objective Minimum – a ball-jointed doll, movable and posable. The Objective Maximum – a pretty, anatomically correct doll, able to stand on her own and keep the pose. When I say anatomically correct – I mean the body shape and proportions.
    She is a girl – no name yet, as she will be a character doll – but I am not sure which one – Dorothy from Oz? Alice from Wonderland? Goldilocks? Little Red Riding Hood? Something like that – a fairy tale or a book character. Still thinking about it. :)
    Have a great weekend! :)

  11. Pamela Hazlewood says:
    January 25, 2010 at 8:25 am

    Nat,
    I understand completely that mechanics are first, my thoughts are just that thoughts not particularly for now. I know how hard it can be to have to work out the mechanics of something, especially when you cannot see the internal works. It is hard to determine the way something will work when you cannot see what you are doing, but I know how creative and smart you are so I am sure you will be able to do it and if we can help (and by that I mean me, but I am sure others will help you too) you can be sure we will do whatever we can to help you.
    So, what is the trouble you are having with the shoulder or body or both? The shoulder is the most mobile joint we have, not only do you have the up/down motion you also have the circular movement that lets us windmill our arms. So, you have to have almost a lever and peg type connection. By that I mean, you have the slit in the upper arm as in the elbow, but then you need a kind of connector that can be a ball in socket type on one side and fit into the lever slit in the upper arm on the other side. That is the ideal, but unless you make the body in two halves (front and back) that may be hard to make (the ball in socket part). Though, as I said before, I know you will be able to figure it out.. You might try getting a cheap Barbie-like doll, some dollar stores have them for a dollar, to take apart to see the way they make the shoulder joint. If I get a chance today I will do a search to see if I can find some BJD’s that show the mechanics for you.
    You are doing great. Keep it up.
    Pam

  12. Mindy says:
    January 25, 2010 at 7:21 pm

    I am so glad I found your site this past weekend. You are most entertaining and enlightning. I appreciate all your hard work and your sharing your discoveries with us! I’ll be following your progress!
    Mindy

  13. Heather West says:
    January 25, 2010 at 8:37 pm

    Brava! A beautiful and uplifting dance! Very cheering on such a rainy and dreary day as we are having in my area. :)

  14. Natasha Red October says:
    January 26, 2010 at 9:13 am

    Thank you, Pam! :)
    The main trouble I have is with time, lol :) I have just a couple of hours to work in the morning – so that is why it takes forever. I have the pictures of ball joints – all of them – I need to find a minute to post them here. The thing is that all the pictures I have are for traditional (empty inside, hollow) dolls. My doll is not hollow, it has the hole inside all parts – the size of a plastic straw – small kind. But it is fascinating to figure it out on my own, so I am not complaining. So, don’t spend time searching for pictures – I have them. :) thank you for the encouragement and your kind interest – it means a lot to me! :)

    Mindy, thank you! :) very glad to hear it!
    Heather – thank you! Did you start yours yet? Or you are still sitting with your itching fingers? lol

    thank you, dear friends, will be back tomorrow – can’t wait! :)

  15. Mark Davidson says:
    January 26, 2010 at 3:28 pm

    This is unbelievable! You are VERY generous to show how you create these masterpieces. I wish I was home now with some warm clay in my hands instead of waiting to leave work….

  16. Heather West says:
    January 26, 2010 at 8:50 pm

    I’ve started mine- I’ll be posting some pics soon- just having some technical difficulties with my site right now- I”m hoping to get them posted tongitht. :) Haven’t made a whole lot of progress though- I’m 12 hours into scultping her, and she still doesn’t look like a doll yet! LOL!

  17. Diana says:
    January 26, 2010 at 10:01 pm

    Oh my Natacha not sure how I found this you making a BJD OMG dear lady you are awesome !!!! I made one and she really wasn’t that great but I did it …have been surching all over the place for more information now Patricia Rose has made 2 that will be porclelain …you are fantastic I love how you have explained every step thank you so much now back to the drawing board for me :) Really this one is going to be just wonderful and on top of it I bet she wll be able to stand on her own won’t she? well I am just glad I found this

  18. Claudia says:
    January 27, 2010 at 8:51 am

    It is amazing!!! A beatiful face!!! Thank you for your generosity to share your discoveries with us Natasha. :)

  19. Mark Davidson says:
    January 27, 2010 at 11:22 am

    If you could cast the pieces and reproduce them in resin you could make a heap of money!

  20. Kay says:
    January 28, 2010 at 12:45 am

    I have been following your experiments with making a BJD with great interest in the process but not even thinking about making one myself. I have always felt that the ball jointed dolls looked like freaky flesh colored robots….until your last group of photos. Suddenly I found I was not looking at the exposed joints, but was totally fascinated and involved with the human expressions you are creating by simply posing the little figure. It is quite amazing that so much charachter and emotion can be felt from a little person who doesn’t have all of her limbs, or even a painted face! Thank you for opening my eyes to a whole new world of doll making. Kay

  21. Pamela Hazlewood says:
    January 28, 2010 at 10:15 am

    Nat,
    I told you that you could figure it out and I love the way you are working this out. The way you are working out the dynamics of this BJD is quite refreshing. I love your dance and gymnastic exercises. I like your shoulder joint and torso. I agree with you about the mobility in the head/neck area, it did look to be more flexible before. She is looking great.
    Keep up the great process. Love watching you work. Pam

  22. Joyce says:
    January 28, 2010 at 8:37 pm

    Hi Natasha!!

    You are amazing as usual….you can figure anything out….OMG!!!
    I was just looking at the ” Enchanded Doll” website….have you seen it before….if you haven’t … take a peek…their dolls are BJD’s….I just stumbled acrossed them….I didn’t know they were so popular…

    Your work is fantastic….I love watching what you do….thanks for always sharing every detail…we appreciate it very much!!! Joyce

  23. Marilyn says:
    January 29, 2010 at 9:09 am

    So nice to see you sculpting again, and BJDs no less!

    Marilyn

  24. Patty says:
    January 29, 2010 at 11:46 am

    Natasha,

    I bought Ryo’s BJD book several months ago. I want to make a polymer BJD that is something between what he does and how the antique Lenci mannequins were made.
    I sculpted the feet so far – I made them with foil cores, then Magic Scupt and them finally polymer. I want them to be a heavy base as the BJD is going to be about 32” tall.
    I like how you are using straws – I am using paper towel tubes LOL!
    Thank you for your many, many hours of work and love that you put into everything that you do!

    Many Blessings, Patty

  25. Deborah says:
    January 29, 2010 at 12:39 pm

    Natasha, I have always enjoyed your work, and following along with how you create the static dolls. (I can’t sculpt humans to save my life! LOL) But seeing you working on this BJD is truly wonderful! They are so very unique. As far an charachters and names go I am partial to the idea of Alice in Wonderland. I would LOVE to see your take on the story!!!

  26. Michelle says:
    January 29, 2010 at 9:14 pm

    Enjoy your tutorials! Thank you so much for sharing, don’t know if I will ever make a jointed doll but it is just fascinating reading your progress.

  27. Natasha Red October says:
    January 31, 2010 at 8:32 am

    Heather, thank you! I will look for your link on ODA :)
    Mark, thank you! Good idea – but too early to even think about it :) thank you!
    Kay – thank you – that is a VERY FLATTERING comment – thank you so very much! :)
    Diana – thank you! :) Yes, I would certainly try to make her to stand on her own! :)
    Claudia – thank you! The pleasure is all mine! :)
    Pam – thank you! Glad you agree with the neck joint – I think I will try to make the neck a ball again – see what it does with the entire doll strung together :)
    Joyce – thank you! Marina’s doll was the one that got me interested in BJD – I got fascinated with the moving aspect of the dolls.
    Marilyn – thank you ! :) Yes, she is my first BJD, hope not the last.
    Patty- thank you! Paper towel tubes – wow – do you have pictures?
    Deborah – thank you! :) I am considering Alice, unless I get the idea that will excite me even more :)
    Thank you, Michelle! Never say never – I never thought of BJD either but look at me now! :)

    Thank you dear friends! :)
    I very very much appreciate your kind attention and your supportive comments – :) Knowing that people are interested in this blog makes me jump out of bed in the morning – cannot wait to get to the studio! :)

  28. Diana says:
    January 31, 2010 at 7:54 pm

    Glad your back at this project and I was so glad to get an email to tell me about this as well …I have been working on doing the BJD for a while now but haven’t liked mine yet :-) I sure love how you show everything as you go thank you so much …now that your this far can’t hardly wait to see her finished :-) you once again have come up with a great way of doing the BJD you sure do rock

  29. Karina says:
    January 31, 2010 at 10:12 pm

    WOWWWWWWWWWWW!! Natasha !! Awesome and Amazing Work! :-)

  30. Natasha Red October says:
    February 1, 2010 at 8:13 am

    Diana – thank you – :) glad to hear it is interesting and useful! :)
    thank you, Karina!! :)

  31. Nancy Cronin says:
    February 1, 2010 at 4:08 pm

    I am enjoying your journey with a BJD. my goal is to create a 1/12 elderly lady BJD. I have been making silicone molds and resin castings for myself and other artist for over ten years. I have had some success with a bjd and I can see where I can improve using some of your ideas.
    I have a few questions if you don`t mind answering. Are the elbow and knee joints all the same size. Are the left and the right elbow /knee joint the same. In other words is the right elbow and the left elbow exactly the same. If they are I could make a mold of just one then cast 2 from that mold..
    Also the small s hook and springs do you think they would work on a 1/12 dolls. Will you have them for sale. Lastly I don`t think I read where you are planning on using the springs.
    please take a look at my doll at my picturetrail site.
    thank you Nancy Cronin

  32. Elena says:
    February 2, 2010 at 8:37 am

    SUPER NATASHA!!!Your work is very fantastic!
    Ciao Elena.

  33. karin says:
    February 2, 2010 at 10:34 am

    Dear Natasha!
    You are truly amazing, love your tutorial! How sweet of you to share…. you are the best and so is your work.
    Thanks.
    Karin

  34. Natasha Red October says:
    February 3, 2010 at 8:34 am

    Thank you, Nancy! Glad to answer! The knee joints are slightly larger. The left and the right joints are the same at the elbow and different at the knees. I am waiting for the delivery of mini springs – they are 2 mm by 40 mm. You can check your openings – will they allow 2 mm? I am thinking springs can be cut to size – I will definitely try to do it and post the results. :) by the way – LOVE your work! :)

  35. Natasha Red October says:
    February 3, 2010 at 8:45 am

    Elena, thank you!
    Karin, thank you!
    :)
    my pleasure, dear Friends :)

  36. karin says:
    February 3, 2010 at 3:47 pm

    Just checked in again to admire your progress….
    What is the music? It blew me away, I would love to buy this. Thanks! Karin

  37. Natasha Red October says:
    February 3, 2010 at 3:57 pm

    It blew me away too :)
    It is Tantra from Tibet album by Waterbone
    look on February 3 entry – there is a link to CD :)
    Thank you, Karin

  38. Pamela Hazlewood says:
    February 3, 2010 at 4:21 pm

    Natasha,
    She is coming along quite well. She looks like a graceful young girl. You said before that she was to be a storybook character, is that still the idea?
    She is wonderful.
    Pam

  39. Natasha Red October says:
    February 3, 2010 at 6:22 pm

    thank you, Pam! :) she will be graceful – I am really glad about that! I changed my mind – she will be a Nepali dancer
    check out February 3 update :)

  40. Nancy Cronin says:
    February 3, 2010 at 6:40 pm

    Hi ,I want to thank you for having me as a guest artist on your blog. As I was rereading and continuing to study your progress.I came across the link to my picturetrail site. it was a very pleasant surprise. Thank you
    Nancy Cronin

  41. Mark Davidson says:
    February 5, 2010 at 8:51 am

    Do you plan to match the skin color for dravidian ethnicity?

  42. Pamela Hazlewood says:
    February 11, 2010 at 12:55 pm

    Nat,
    I guess my last post got lost. I wondered how much snow you had at Morezmore? I take it you are still waiting on the string?
    Pam

  43. Natasha Red October says:
    February 13, 2010 at 10:14 am

    Nancy, you are welcome! Really liked your witches and wanted to show you off for a week or so :)

  44. Natasha Red October says:
    February 13, 2010 at 10:15 am

    Mark, thank you for watching – I am thinking about trying eye shadow – I read somewhere that rubbing eye shadow into polymer clay creates a nice soft effect.

  45. Natasha Red October says:
    February 13, 2010 at 10:18 am

    Pam, yes, we got a lot of snow – 26 inches. Brandon (my helper) and I shoveled the driveway – it happens to be pretty long, especially when it is covered with heavy wet snow. That took one and a half day and disabled me for the next day – I was hurting. The box with elastic was shipped late and now is stuck somewhere in PA – I hope to get it on Monday.

  46. Pamela Hazlewood says:
    February 14, 2010 at 10:14 am

    Nat,
    Snow weight I understand completely, I live in Michigan, and normally we get quite a bit of the white stuff. This year it has almost all gone south and east of us, doesn’t happen often. Though, I do thank the east and south east coast for taking our normal years supply. We, only last week, got some measurable snow, but only about half of what then went on to the east and dumped more snow on the east coast.

    Have you thought about trying to use wire to “string”her with wire? Though I am not sure how that would work. I was thinking along the lines of the BJD artist that you mentioned in Part 1 who had inspired you to make your BJD. I had visited her site and read that she uses wire to “string” her BJD. I just wondered if you had thought about it or had asked her about it or anyone else for that matter. I can see how it might make the doll less likely to fall apart, but I don’t know exactly how to go about wiring one together.

    I like the clean lines your BJD has. She doesn’t have the awkward malformed looking elbows and knees that other BJD I have seen have. She has a very nice form.
    Pam

  47. Natasha Red October says:
    February 14, 2010 at 10:35 am

    Hey, Pam – the snow we got beat all the records I think – I don’t know how long back the record goes, I don’t remember, but it is a lot. The wire stringing is possible and yes, I am thinking about it – for the next doll. It needs to be in combination with springs and needs to have horizontal wire bars in joints. I have a rather good idea of how to do it – well, they way I think it will work – theoretically at least. I will do it on the next one – because I see already that this one will be not the last one. Thank you for your kind word about the form – the progress is very slow – but I am pretty confident I will make her work. Need elastic to start working on the legs – big part of the legs work will involve the balancing act – once I get her to stand on her own and figure out the weight distribution and balance, I will start figuring out how to shape it so that the legs and the lower torso look pretty – in other words, mechanics first. Thank you for watching – it is a bit like watching paint dry :)
    have a good sunday

  48. Diana says:
    February 15, 2010 at 3:21 am

    Love how your thinking on this doing really well love the idea’s your putting out there maybe I will get a good looking BJD body yet….This creation is going to be so much fun …looking forward to the next instalment :)

  49. Diana says:
    February 15, 2010 at 3:26 am

    I really love how your creating this one she is going to be just ever so cool movement wise and artistic as well …look forward to the next installment :) anxious to see her all done…

  50. Mark Davidson says:
    February 15, 2010 at 9:03 am

    Here is a link with a good shoulder idea. It is a Company that mass produces BJD Action Figures (Caution Anatomically Correct Dolls)

    http://www.triadtoys.com/Products/Figure+Bodies/Base+Bodies/EVALUTION+%28EVA%29+CAUCASIAN+BODY.html

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